(Next) Great One Career Threatened?

1) That's the word on the street these days concerning Sidney Crosby. Sadly a full 7 1/2 months after his last game we're told by multiple sources that The Kid' is still experiencing "symptoms" associated with PCS (Post Concussion Syndrome). From what sources tell us, Crosby is still experiencing periodic head aches and even occasional blurred vision, especially when he exerts himself. Experts we have consulted with say "this is a very ominous sign.... If he is still experiencing symptoms this far out from the original injury it doesn't bode well for his long term prognosis". Now, we at Fauxrumors are not experts on this issue, but have long been out in front of it. Way back in January of 2008 we did a post exclusively discussing this emerging topic. Titled The dreaded-c-word. We recontacted our resident expert on neurological issues, Dr. Varga, M.D. (retired). He reiterated what he said a few years ago to us. The most serious potential complication of concussion is second-impact syndrome (SIS). "Patients who receive a second blow days or weeks after a concussion, before symptoms from the first concussion have gone away, are at risk of developing this condition".

2) If you recall Crosby suffered 2 concussions in rapid succession. The first incident occurred on January 1st during The Winter Classic when he and then-Capital Dave Steckel collided seemingly innocently behind the play. Curiously, initially no diagnosis of this as a concussion was made (probably the biggest reason for his current predicament). Within a week of this Crosby was thumped again. This time against the boards by Swedish monster defensemen Victor Hedman causing concussion # 2. It was here that he was finally diagnosed and only in retrosepct did they realize it was a repeat concussion. What we at Fauxrumors find amazing is that no one is blasting the Penguins medical staff for not being on top of this situation. It was CLEAR as crystal that Crosby's bell was rung pretty dam good at Heinze Field. He even forgot to get on the ice at the end of the game as the extra attacker. Wouldn't that be a pretty big Red Flag?? Yet we haven't heard a wit of a negative comment towards the Pens and their coaching/medical staffs with respect to this literal malpractice/mishandling the health of their best player!

3) So where do we, (Crosby) and the league go from here? For one, regardless if you are a Penguins supporter or hater, it would be a very bad day for the NHL to lose one of its iconic super stars at such a young age (24). He along with Alex Ovechkin were the new stars of the NHL coming out of the (last) Bettman lockout. He may not have been developing into the next Gretzky not-next-great-one as you can see we alluded to a couple of years ago, but clearly he is one of the top 5 players in the game today and losing him would be a very significant blow to the league. From what we have been told even the best case scenario isn't too rosy for Sid. He's probably looking at a minimum of another 2-3 months before any possible comeback to playing. Most neurologists want a patient to be symptom free for a minimum of a month before clearing them for contact. Then the team should be extra cautious in getting Crosby back out there for actual games. As Eric Lindros, Pat Lafontaine and other former star players who have had multiple concussions have found once they return they seem extra prone to re-injuring themselves. Even hits that appear to be routine/innocuous can have severe consequences. Almost all specialists tell Fauxrumors that were Crosby to sustain another significant event (concussion) its all but sure his career would be over.